1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lid structure for openably closing an opening of an article storage container, and more particularly to a lid structure comprising a lid for opening and closing such an opening and a manually operable lock member for locking and unlocking the lid, the manually operable lock member being slidably held in the lid.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
There are known lid structures having a lid for closing an opening of an article storage container which has an engaging step and a manually operable lock member, slidably held in the lid and engageable with the engaging step, for locking and unlocking the lid with respect to the article storage container.
The lid structures are generally classified into two groups. In one group, the lid is fully detachable from the article storage container, and in the other group, the lid is hinged and swingable with respect to the article storage container.
In the detachable lid structures, the lid has a retaining member on one end and a manually operable lock member on the other end. In order to mount the lid on the article storage container, the retaining member is brought into engagement with a corresponding portion in the opening of the article storage container. Then the manually operable lock member is brought into engagement with the engaging step of the article storage container. For detachment of the lid, the manually operable lock member is first manipulated out of engagement with the engaging step. Then, the retaining member is disengaged from the article storage member.
In the swingable lid structures, one end of the lid is coupled by a hinge to the article storage container, with the manually operable lock member on the other end of the lid. The lid can be angularly moved to open and close the opening of the article storage container, when the lid is unlocked and locked by the manually operable lock member.
The above lid structures are typically used to openably close the openings of battery containers of various battery-operated devices, such as cameras with electronic mechanisms, portable audio devices, or the like, for example.
One conventional lid structure is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings. FIG. 5 shows the bottom of an electronically controlled single-lens reflex camera.
The single-lens reflex camera, generally designated by the reference numeral 1, includes a camera housing 3 having a grip 3A on one side thereof. The grip 3A has therein a battery container 5 for storing a battery (not shown). The camera housing 3 includes a lower panel 7 in which an opening 9 of the battery container 5 is defined, with the opening 9 being normally closed by a battery lid 11. The battery container 5 and the battery lid 11 jointly define a battery storage chamber 5A. The battery lid 11 has an end 11A swingably hinged to the lower panel 7. A manually operable lock member 13 is slidably mounted in the other free end of the battery lid 11.
The battery lid 11 is fragmentarily shown in an enlarged scale in FIG. 6. In FIG. 6, the bottom surface of the camera 1 is shown as facing upwardly. The end of the manually operable lock member 13, which end is positioned near the edge of the battery lid 11 remotely from the hinged end 11A, is shown on the lefthand side.
The battery lid 11 has a window 15 defined therein. The manually operable lock member 13 is positioned on the surface of the battery lid 11 which faces into the battery storage chamber 5A. The manually operable lock member 13 has a manipulating ridge 13A projecting on one surface thereof (shown as the upper surface in FIG. 6) and positioned within the window 15. The battery lid 11 has a pair of spaced guide walls 17A, 17B, positioned one on each side of the window 15, for guiding the upper surface of the manually operable lock member 13. The battery lid 11 also has a pair of laterally spaced guide walls 17C, positioned one on each side of the window 15, for guiding the respective lateral sides of the manually operable lock member 13.
To assemble the manually operable lock member 13 in the battery lid 11, the manually operable lock member 13 is inserted, from below in FIG. 6, between the lateral guide walls 17C. Then, the lower surface of the manually operable lock member 13 is held by a holder plate 19. The holder plate 19 is then bonded or fused to a plurality of support posts 21 projecting from the inner surface (shown as the lower surface in FIG. 6) of the battery lid 11.
The manually operable lock member 13 is made of synthetic resin. The manually operable lock member 13 has a spring 13B on a rear end thereof which is positioned inwardly, remote from the free end of the battery lid 11. The spring 13B is resiliently held against a spring bearing surface 23 of the battery lid 11 for normally urging the manually operable lock member 13 forward, i.e., toward the free end of the battery lid 11.
The manually operable lock member 13 has a stop ledge 13C disposed on its upper surface near the spring 13B. When the stop ledge 13C is engaged by a front edge of a recess 25, defined in an inner surface of the battery lid 11, the manually operable lock member 13 is held in a forward position under the bias of the spring 13B.
The manually operable lock member 13 has an engaging finger 13D on its front end. When the manually operable lock member 13 is in the forward position, the engaging finger 13D engages the lower panel 7 of the camera housing 3, closing the opening 9 of the battery container 5, as shown in FIG. 6. When the user shifts the ridge 13A to slide the manually operable lock member 13 rearwardly to the right as shown in FIG. 6, the engaging finger 13D is brought out of engagement with the lower panel 7. The lid 11 is unlocked and can now be angularly moved about the hinged end 11A to open the opening 9.
With the conventional battery lid structure, however, the separate holder plate 19 is necessary to hold the manually operable lock member 13 on the battery lid 11, and a special bonding or fusing process is required to fasten the holder plate 19 to the support posts 21. Consequently, the number of parts used and the number of assembling steps required are increased, resulting in an increase in the cost of the battery lid structure.